Pivotal role for TGF-beta in infectious heart disease: The case of Trypanosoma cruzi infection and consequent Chagasic myocardiopathy.
This paper summarizes recent data from the literature suggesting that transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) participates at least in four different processes influencing development of myocardiopathy in Chagas disease, a major parasitic illness caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection: (a) invasion of cardiac fibroblasts and myocytes; (b) intracellular parasite cycle; (c) regulation of inflammation and immune response; (d) fibrosis and heart remodeling during acute and chronic disease. All these effects point to an important role of TGF-beta in Chagas disease myocardiopathy and suggest that monitoring the circulating levels of this cytokine could be of help in clinical prognosis and management of patients. Moreover, TGF-beta-interfering therapies appear as interesting adjuvant interventions during acute and chronic phases of T. cruzi infection.
Araújo-Jorge
Tania C
TC
Laboratório de Biologia Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. taniaaj@ioc.fiocruz.br
Waghabi
Mariana C
MC
Soeiro
Maria de Nazaré C
Mde N
Keramidas
Michelle
M
Bailly
Sabine
S
Feige
Jean-Jacques
JJ
D000818:Animals; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000502:physiology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000502:physiology*
D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta